DUBAI

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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Employees need to work a minimum of two years in a company and can transfer to another facility of the same employer

Labour Ministry has clarified the amendments it made to labour laws early this week and said the six-month ban on job transfers remains, but with certain conditions, reported Arabic language daily Al Khaleej.

Humaid bin Dimas Al Suwaidi, Assistant Undersecretary for Labour Affairs, said: "While the amendments in labour laws aim to improve employer-employee relationship and make it easier for people to switch jobs, if the agreements between the two parties are not adhered to or employees breach any of the labour laws, such as not spending a minimum two years with an employer, then they can face a six-month ban."

"There will be no ban if employees transfer to another facility of the same employer or to those companies in which the employer has a share in or is a partner" he said.

Employees will not be banned on taking up another job if the facility is shutting down or they are not paid salaries for more than 60 days. But in such cases the employee must alert the Labour Ministry and submit a report from the Inspection Department within two months, Al Suwaidi added.

Alternatively, employees can also approach the Labour Ministry in cases of unfair dismissal from work without justification; termination before the contract period ends; denial of contract renewal without a valid reason; etc. However, employees should be clear of any breach of practice.

Al Suwaidi said, as per the new amendments, all categories of workers have the right to transfer jobs, but did not specify the number of times a worker can transfer employment.

"The system of transferring sponsorship, which has been valid for more than 30 years, is abolished," he said and called on employers to speeden up renewal of labour contracts.

Meanwhile, according to a source in the ministry, establishments that fall under Category 1 is exempted from providing a bank guarantee.

The Ministry of Labour has amended the labourers' Visa Transfer Law, which, I believe, are in favour of both - the labourers and the labour market. The ministry has ceased the previous condition that obligates the labourer to complete one year continuous service for his/her employer before being permitted to transfer his/her visa to another employer.

According to the new rule, the Ministry of Labour no longer requires such a condition. So, any labourer who has not completed a year's service for his/her employer may transfer to another employer after obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the employer to transfer the visa to another employer, provided that the newly imposed fees should be settled. Such fees are called "the one year non-completion fees" which is calculated at the rate of Dh500 per month. For instance, if the employee continues a period of two months service only then he/she would be obliged to pay a fee of Dh5,000 for 10 months.

Now any labourer, who completes a period of years service and who could not obtain an NOC, can resign and can approach the Ministry of Labour and the ministry - as per his demand - will cancel the visa and apply a six-month ban. With the new rules and upon completion of three years' service, this ban can be lifted and the employee can transfer to another employer without the need to obtain such NOC from the previous employer, provided that the newly imposed fees should be settled in addition to the visa transfer fees. Such new fees are called 'ban lifting fees'. Worth saying is that this new law is not applicable in Abu Dhabi but might be in the future. Therefore, the reader as per the new law will not have any problem as long as the company has promised to grant him a n NOC to transfer his visa.

Abu Dhabi: The national ID
card registration will be linked with residence visa issuance and renewal in
Western Region in Abu Dhabi from Sunday, the Emirates Identity Authority
(Emirates ID) announced on Tuesday.

The preventive
medicine centres (PMC) conducting visa medical tests at Madinat Zayed, Sila and
Delma will start linking the process with ID card registration from April 24.
The PMC in Ghaythi will link the medical test with ID card registration on May
1.

In focus: All you
need to know about the ID card

This will require
all expatriates in the Western Region residents to apply for the ID card before
applying for or renewing their visas, said a statement issued by Emirates ID. A
resident's visa application form should have the Emirates ID's seal, as proof
of registration.

Residents can visit
authorised typing centre to fill out the application form and pay the fee,
complete the visa medical test at a PMC and then visit the Emirates ID
registration centre to complete the registration process.

This has already
been implemented in Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah as part of
Emirates ID's 2010-'13 strategy to enrol all expatriates in the country as part
of process to procure a residence visa.

Apart from
expanding the linking process emirate-wise, Emirates ID has started linking the
visa medical tests and ID card registration at small preventive medical centres
across the country, a senior official told Gulf News recently. This is to
expedite the linking process, Dr. Ali Al Khoury, Director-General of Emirates
ID, said.

There will be no need for expatriates to have labour a card after three months’, a spokesman from the ministry of labour has said.

“The document which was essential for any employee in the country will now be replaced by the Emirates ID and there will no longer be a need to have a labour card by the end of June, when the deadline for registering expatriates in the ID system expires,” he said

Earlier Saqr Gobash Saeed Gobash, Minister of Labour, had said that Emirates ID cards would replace labour cards by the second half of 2012.

He said the decision would be implemented as soon as the Emirates National Identity Authority (Eida) was sure that all expatriates in the UAE were registered and had applied for the Emirates ID.

“After the completion of ID registration of all expatriates in the country, the labour card will be eradicated and replaced by the Emirates ID,” he said.

Dubai residents, whose residence visas expire this year, can register and renew their ID cards at the time of renewal of their visas. Expatriates in Sharjah are required to register and renew their ID cards before February 1; Abu Dhabi residents must do it before April 1; and the deadline for Dubai is before June 1.

The official said that the Emirates ID is valid for two years for expatriates working in the private sector. The validity applies to also family members who are under their sponsorship.

The Emirates ID will soon replace all other identification cards for the residents such as driving licence, health card and labour card.

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Monday, May 28, 2012

Adam Holdings, a leading wealth management consultancy and specialist in UAE company formation, has signed a joint venture agreement with the Industrial Free Zone & Innovations Technology, Republic of Togolaise.

This opportunity was indentified at the Annual Investment Meeting recently organized in Dubai by the UAE, Ministry of Foreign Trade.

Dr. Tahir Akhtar, Chairman and Ms. Valerie Naidoo, Business Consultant at Adam Holdings, met Mr. Michel Akue, Counsel General of Zone Franche Togo, a Multi-Commodity company in Togo, Africa which aimed to setup a freezone company in UAE, an area of specialization of Adam Holdings. Dr. Akhtar was then introduced to Mr. Fofana Bakalawa - Minister for Industry Free Zone & Innovations Technology, Republic of Togolaise by Mr. Akue.

Subsequently, on May 06, 2012 the pact was signed in a meeting between "Government of Togo" and Adam Holdings at ADAM Holdings head office in Gold & Diamond Park – Dubai as its consultant to bring Foreign Direct Investment in various sectors of the economy.